Bleeding Like Me
by The Faceless God
Summary: Harry Potter...Angra Manyu...they were tired. Tired of suffering. So when a broken Grail lodges itself inside the broken body of a broken boy, their wishes save them...and possibly doom the world.
1. Chapter 1

Harry had been having a good week. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he hadn't been having a bad week, which he supposed was as close to a good week as he was going to get. So, yeah, he had been having a good week.

Vernon, Harry's uncle and caretaker, had been offered a promotion by his boss. Offered being the key word here. From what Harry understood, Vernon's current business deal in Japan was meant as a sort of test or evaluation. Depending on how things went, Vernon may be due for a raise and more people to yell at.

Of course, Vernon somehow managed to get his entire family a paid trip to Fuyuki for the duration of negotiations. The entire family plus Harry. For reasons that Harry was unaware of, though he had a feeling it had something to do with the cat lady down the street being in the hospital and Aunt Marge hating him, he had to go on the trip with the Dursleys. Of course, he didn't get to go see the sights like Petunia and Dudley got to while Vernon was working, but he'd rather be alone in the hotel than with the Dursleys anyways.

The great thing though was that the Dursleys were in a good mood all week. Apparently negotiations with the up and coming business mogul, a Minaka something or other, had been going well so far. And happy Dursleys meant an untouched Harry. Though he was only six years old, Harry's body sported several scars from belt lashings. Harry was also rather small for his age, and his baggy clothing only made his malnourishment more apparent. However, for the entire week they were in Japan the Dursleys had not laid a single finger on him. It was amazing! No punches, no lashes, no kicks, no choking...it was like a dream.

A dream that couldn't last.

Anyone who knew Vernon Dursley, truly knew him, knew that it was a miracle that negotiations had gone as well as they had for so long. As such, no one would be surprised to know that Vernon ultimately failed to make the business deal. No one except anyone with the last name Dursley.

And anyone who _truly_ knew Vernon wouldn't be surprised to know that Vernon would be very upset about this.

Harry's body slammed against the wall of the hotel room, creating a resounding crack that Harry hoped someone in the hotel heard. Though hope wasn't needed. Vernon was so angry, so out of his mind in that moment that he had scared Petunia and Dudley off, and that he wasn't holding back. Someone would hear. Someone would come, sooner or later. Smack. He beat his fists against the boy's skull and chest. Smack. He shouted and roared as he tossed Harry's small frame against the wall again and again. Smack. He rose he foot and slammed it against his nephew's side, putting all his weight onto it as he collapsed the small boy's rib cage, breaking the bones and pushing them into Harry's lungs. Smack. Harry was dying. Smack. He couldn't breathe. Smack. He was drowning. Smack. HE WAS DYING!

The sky suddenly went red. The air went cold and the world tilted. Then there was fire. Then black tar boiling hot and _screaming_ flooded the Earth. It broke through the windows, the ceiling, the floor, the walls. It buried them. Vernon shouted obscenities as he was carried away and torn apart by the tar, but Harry did not move. The tar did not shove him. No, the tar surrounded him, entombed him, ate him.

"I don't want to die.", the broken boy cried as his life faded.

 **"I can't let it end like this."** , the broken grail cried as its power faded.

"I…still…"

 **"I…still…"**

"I still need to make t **he world bleed just like me!"**

And as the hotel crumbled, shards of a once powerful artifact, remnants of a terrible force, buried themselves within the body of a kindred spirit. The boy would live. For though a single wish could do nothing, two wishes for survival, for retribution, would be enough. Angra Manyu, Harry Potter, they would survive.

"Oh? What do we have here?"

And old man, a man that wasn't a man but was, stood over the broken body of the broken boy hours after the tears of tar and fire had receded, eyes fixated on the broken pieces of the broken grail lodged in the broken boy's broken body. And as the boy looked at the man, all he could think about was how much the man looked like a worm.

"Looks like the fates have favored me. I've just found the vessel for the next grail.", the magus spoke as a sadistic grin spread across his face.

No, Harry Potter, Angra Manyu, would not die. They would live. They would suffer. They would grow. And they would have their revenge…one day…

 **AN: Greetings humans. This is my first story on this site, and it is a response to a challenge posted on Arawn D. Draven's profile. This story will feature a Dark Harry, an abused Harry, a Harry raised by the Matou's, and most likely a harem. I feel the need to note that Harry will not be godlike, though he will be smart, but more in the manipulative sociopath way than the "I know everything, I have it here in this book" way. Harry will eventually make it to Hogwarts, but he will be going through the Holy Grail War first. This will also feature a lot of smart assedness, so don't be surprised by any of that.**

 **oh, and I like the crazies, so expect the girls who will be getting all romantic with our protagonist won't exactly be what the hot crazy scale says you should go for.**

 **So, if any of that made you cringe, then go away, now, I'm serious, you won't like this story. The rest of you have been warned. I'll be updating within the next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

Rin Tohsaka prided herself on her self image. She had constructed for herself in school a reputation that spoke of intelligence and kind heartedness. She was beautiful and popular, she was the top of her class, and she was known to help out her underclassmen whenever they were around. Even if it was only a mask, it was a mask she held enough pride in to care for.

So, while in the library, when Rin found a student struggling to reach for a book on a higher shelf-he was so small, she was surprised he was in high school-she walked towards him with elegance and purpose. She smiled as she stopped next to him and grabbed the book he had been reaching for from its place among the rows and rows of books. She may have been wasting time she could have spent studying for an upcoming test with friends as she had originally set out to do, but she needed to help her underclassmen out. After all, that is what school idol Rin Tohsaka did.

The boy turned suddenly, and a brief look of surprise flashed across his face, apparently not realizing anyone else was in the library with him, before he closed in on himself. He looked away as he shuffled his feet, his hands clasped in front of him in a manner that made him look even younger than he already looked.

"...hi…" The boy spoke in a voice that was both quiet and vulnerable. It was breathy, like he was unused to speaking, and scratchy, the sort of voice that may have been described as husky had he been a girl.

Rin smiled at her shy kohai as she held the book out towards him.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Rin Tohsaka. Sorry for surprising you, but you looked like you needed some help."

The boy shifted around uncomfortably as he gently grasped the book in his hands and pulled it against his chest. "Ah...Hari...please take care of me…"

Rin giggled a bit behind her hand at the boy's strange form of speech. She took a moment to properly take in Hari's appearance. He was short, even by Japanese standards, short enough for Rin to have to bend over to look him eye to eye. His hair was medium long and resembled crow feathers. It stuck up at odd ends and seemed to shift and sway like pitch black tree leaves.

His skin was pale, like he didn't spend much time outside, and what little skin she could she was devoid of any blemish. Rin felt herself feel a little jealous despite herself. He was wearing the normal school uniform, tan slacks and a closed blazer, though he also wore black gloves and a black scarf which covered much of the lower half of his face. The boy's eyes were a deep dark green that stood out and seemed to glow.

 _'Is this what those other girls call kawaii?'_

After the brief silence, Hari spoke again. "Um...arigatou…"

Hari bowed before turning on his heel and rushing away, around a corner, then out of sight. Rin smiled and went back about her business.

* * *

Hari smiled as he sat on the library floor, his arms hugging his knees as he held the book he had gotten to his chest. His smile grew as it split his face.

"So that was the Tohsaka girl...", Hari mused to himself. He sat there in silence for a moment before letting out a squeal as he began to roll around on the floor with a small blush on his face.

"Kya~ that was scary friend-chan! What if she saw through my mask? I saw through hers so she could've seen through mine, right? What if I accidentally said my family name? That would've ruined everything! Uh...that was risky…kukuku…"

Next to the strange boy a whisky silhouette that only he could see took shape beside him. The silhouette's posture was slumped, and the head seemed to shake slightly in a manner that adequately portrayed their exasperation.

"Ah~ don't be like that friend-chan. You said she is going to be a master in the war, right? Well, if I can get familiar with her before the war then I'll have a serious advantage against her."

The silhouette leaned forward and raised its arms as if it were trying to rip their hair out.

"Well I can't go in too strong right now. I might scare her off! Better to start out slow. There is still a couple months before the war starts. I can solidify our friendship by then."

The silhouette crossed their arms over their chest.

"Oh! I see now. You're jealous, aren't you? How cute~"

Hari laughed as he stood up, clutching The Art of War to his chest as he walked out of the library, shifting back into his timid persona, his imaginary friend stomping after him. Hari had been preparing for the Holy Grail War ever since he first woke up in Zouken Matou's worm pit. And though Zouken himself didn't know it, Hari knew more about the coming war than anyone else.

His imaginary friend provided a lot of information. Who would be masters in the coming war, where the Holy Grail would manifest, the presence of a servant left over from the last war at the church, and, perhaps most importantly, when the war would start. It was starting early. Very early. Only 8 years after the last one, friend-chan insisted it was more accurate to say after two four years for some reason, and Hari was ready. He was more prepared than any other master because he was the only one truly prepared. Not even his sister Sakura, bless her heart, knew. She would be a master, this he knew, but plans had already been put in place to defeat her without bringing her harm.

After all, she actually cared about him, and he felt that it was only right to return the favor.

Of all the masters, the two, besides Sakura, that he had enough access to to manipulate were the Tohsaka heir and the adopted son of the Magus Killer. The boy, Shirou, was naive enough to be manipulated during the war without much work beforehand, so at the moment Hari was putting his time into endearing himself to Rin. He doubted they'd be best friends, but he could get close enough to her to compromise her decision making. When the time came, she would hesitate to take him out, and he wouldn't.

The bell rang signaling the end of break. Hari made his way to his classroom, hiding a wince of pain as a worm decided to squeeze through his rib cage, dislocating it slightly. He hated the damn leeches which fed and bred inside of him. He would need to find a way to deal with them soon. He hoped he would summon a Caster. A Caster with the magical knowledge and skill necessary to cleanse his body of these parasites.

He also hoped they were cute. A cute Caster would be perfect.

* * *

Things had been going according to plan so far. Sakura had yet to receive her command seals, but she would soon enough. Naturally they would ally together, but in the end her Servant would have to be eliminated. He hoped Sakura would understand that.

He had become fairly close to the Tohsaka heir over the course of the last couple months. Hari was by no means close to the girl, but they had something that could be called friendship if he hadn't been planning to take advantage of their relationship to easily defeat the girl in the coming conflict. She still had no clue he was a Matou, and he took great care not to be seen together with Sakura by her. This wasn't particularly difficult since the sisters avoided each other anyways.

The Emiya boy and Hari had crossed paths a few times, and Hari made sure to act particularly vulnerable around the red head. The boy seemed to be the dumb heroic type, so he wouldn't have to worry too much about the boy immediately going against him now. More likely than not the boy would try to protect him from "evil" Masters.

Hari found himself laughing at the thought.

And now Hari was prepared to summon his Servant. He managed to convince Zouken to allow him to perform the summoning ritual alone, saying in his fake timid voice that he shouldn't startle the servant, they needed to get to know each other, needed to avoid misunderstandings, etcetera etcetera. Zouken came to the conclusion that he made the boy nervous and the boy was afraid that he'd make a mistake in his anxiousness, something that the worm supposed wouldn't be for the best, no matter how amusing the sight of may be. So the old man left his investment alone in the empty worm pit with the summoning circle the boy had made.

Hari grinned, and began to chant.

"For the elements sulfur and iron.

For the foundation, stone, and the archduke of contracts.

For the ancestor, my great master Schweinorg.

Close the gates of the cardinal directions.

Come forth from the Crown, and follow the forked road to the Kingdom.

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.

Repeat five times. But when each is filled, destroy it. Set.

Heed my words.

My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.

If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.

I hereby swear...

That I shall be all that is true in the world.

That I shall vanquish all that is wrong in the world.

You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding... Guardian of the scales!"

In the final lines of the chant, Hari's imaginary friend, that whispy silhouette, leapt into the circle. Hari's eyes widened as the circle began to glow a color that was black yet shone like light. Then smoke erupted from the circle obscuring everything from view.

"I am servant Avenger.", the figure within the circle spoke as the smoke began to disperse.

Hari's eyes widened.

"I ask of you, kindred spirit, do you accept your role as my master?"

"...Friend-chan?"

 **AN: This chapter was originally longer, but I cut out some fluff with Sakura meant to show how their relationship worked. I just didn't like how it turned out. To make up for it, you'll be seeing more Sakura next chapter.**

 **I decided to make the time difference between wars eight years, and just made everyone slightly older when the fire occurred to make this work. It was mainly because Harry was six when the fire happened (in accordance with Arawn D Draven's challenge Harry spent six years with the Dursleys) and I wanted Harry to be fourteen during the war. I could've probably found a more elegant solution, maybe, but this is fan fiction, and already AU, so who cares.**

 **Also, Harry is Hari while in Japan since that is how you'd write his name in Hiragana to get the closest to an accurate pronunciation.**

 **Lastly, I've decided that this chapter length of around 2,000 will work fine for chapters like this that are mainly just set up. Once more stuff starts happening, the chapters will get longer as I'll have more to write about. But since I didn't have a heck of a lot to write I decided I wasn't going to try to extend the length too far with a bunch of forced fluff. See you all within the next week, mortals.**


	3. Chapter 3

Avenger stepped out of the smoke, a wide caricature of a smile spreading across their face as they gazed into Hari's eyes. They had been planning this for a long time. They could do little as Hari's 'imaginary friend', but as a Heroic Spirit they could do much.

"Friend-chan...is that you?", Hari asked in surprise and disbelief. Avenger felt a wave of self satisfaction at their master's surprise.

"You seem shocked. Who were you expecting? Aphrodite? Pfft, like a woman of that caliber would give you the time of day. You should feel blessed that you got me." Another monstrous grin spread across Avenger's face as they giggled into their hand, an action that seemed stiff and forced.

"You...you're a girl", was all Hari could force out.

It was true. Avenger appeared as a girl of average height for a Japanese highschooler, which of course meant that she stood quite a bit taller than Hari. Her skin was pale and smooth, and her chalk white hair flowed down her back in a single straight sheet. She wore a black dress which covered her body and split at the end into rectangular strips which resembled tendrils of all consuming darkness. Her otherwise perfect skin was covered in vine like red markings which shifted and moved constantly. She was barefoot, Hari idly noticed, and seemed unconcerned with the cold and dampness of the hard stone floor. Her eyes were red, like fire.

Hari wondered at the passing resemblance to Sakura, his dear sister, but decided that that was a matter best left for later.

Avenger leaned forward in a manner that would've been seductive had the motion not have been so exaggerated and wrong. "Oh~what sort of thoughts are you thinking about your servant? All this time I spent with you, I'm practically a sibling, and yet you'd think such naughty things about me. Do you have no shame? Ufufu…"

Hari wasn't listening to her. Instead he placed one hand over his chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Root. I thought you were gay. That would've made your inevitable confession all the more awkward."

Avenger felt a vein pop in her forehead.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU THINK THAT! AND WHO THE HELL IS CONFESSING!?"

* * *

The air around the dining room table was tense and awkward. The Matous thought they were prepared for whatever it was Hari would summon, but to summon Avenger, a class that was not one of the standard seven, one that died off so early on in the Third Holy Grail War, was not something anyone expected.

Zouken had been amused, first by his adopted grandson's summoning of a weak Servant, and second by the weak Servant's appearance. She looked much like his weak granddaughter, which he found quite appropriate.

"Okay Friend-chan…say 'ahhh'..."

"W-what do you think you are doing!?"

"I'm feeding you. D-do you not like it?"

"O-of course I do! Don't cry master. I'll eat it. See? Ahh…"

Though even he found himself a little off put by the two's antics.

Sakura didn't know what to think about the whole situation. Learning that her brother would be fighting in the Holy Grail War, finding that his Servant looked so much like her, and then seeing the two of them act so…strangely…had sent her on an emotional roller coaster. She was worried, confused, and she could feel just a small hint of jealousy settle in her chest at the sight of this imposter trying to taker her place! She was Hari's sister! Not that pale little tramp!

Who was it that suffered alongside Hari? Her! Who was it that stood beside him when he was at his lowest? Her! Who was it that could understand her otōto best? Her! So why was this girl he had barely met getting so much attention? He never fed her like that, or talk to her like that. It wasn't fair! He was her otōto! Not that wannabe imposter's, but hers!

 _'My otōto…my otōto…mine mine mine mine mine'_

Shinji was just happy to be alive. He was currently hanging upside down suspended in the air by a black tendril of darkness. Avenger had apparently taken offense to Shinji's ogling and had taken it upon herself to teach him a lesson. He was hanging upside down to get the blood flowing to his head and away from his other head.

"Say 'ahh'..."

"Umm…ahh…SHIT! HOT! HOT! MASTER, WHY!?"

"Oh no! Hurry! Drink some water!" Hari fumbled around for a drink while not actually making any real effort.

Avenger spotted a glass of water sitting on the table near her. She hadn't even realized she had a glass, so caught up she was with trying to retain some sense of dignity in the face of her Master's teasing. And she knew that was all it was, teasing. No matter how adorable his actions seemed on the outside, she knew his intentions were not so cute on the inside. Avenger gulped down all the water in the cup in record time. She set the cup down and began to pant in relief. Then she noticed her Master's shocked face and the red hue coloring his cheeks.

"Th-that was my cup." He rose a hand to his lips. "An indirect kiss…"

Avenger felt her eye twitch.

Sakura snapped the chopsticks in her hand.

Shinji passed out from all the blood rushing to his head.

Then all hell broke loose.

Zouken sighed. "Things are going to be quite lively here, I can tell."

* * *

Rin's eyes darted around as she walked through Fuyuki, her eye twitching subtly as she listened to her Servant ramble.

"Amazing! To think such advancements have been made with such a system. So many colors, so many sounds…truly a triumph of man's ingenuity. And that train, it was so fast. To think the clunky loud machines of the past would come so far."

"Shouldn't you already know about all this!?"

Archer took a moment to formulate an answer. He was a handsome man who towered above the average Japanese man, standing at six feet in height with long black hair that fell back to his shoulders. He wore a well fitted black suit and tie which, along with his confident gate and clearly foreign appearance, gave the impression of a foreign businessman, one of great wealth and success, visiting from some western country.

After a moment of thought, Archer answered his short tempered Master's question.

"True true, the grail does provide me with knowledge of the modern world, but the knowledge isn't nearly satisfactory enough. One can not learn simply by being told what is what and how things are, you must go explore yourself! Push boundaries, discover the undiscovered, only then can you make a name for yourself. Only then can you claim to be a genius."

Rin found herself momentarily flustered by the heartfelt reply before she regained her composure.

"You sound like you plan on changing the world or something."

"Don't we all?"

Rin couldn't think of a reply to that.

The Servant had refused to go into astral form, and Rin didn't think it wise to waste a command seal so early on in the game. Still, she supposed that it was unlikely that a Master would attack in broad daylight, and maybe later they could lure an enemy servant out for a fight.

Archer's stats were odd. His physical stats were nothing impressive, his agility and endurance being C rank and his strength D, but his mana stat was a bit of a surprise at a B rank. Perhaps Archer could also be summoned as a Caster? Still, the Servant was obviously intelligent, if a bit too curious for his own good, and she supposed that superior strategy could easily make up for the Servant's less than stellar stats.

Still, she wished she had summoned a Saber.

* * *

Caster stared at her Master in disgust from where she lay. The cold air cut into her bare skin as he crouched over her with that disgusting grin on his face. Her arms were bound, but this was due to a the man's preference rather than out of necessity.

She had been hopeful when she had been summoned. Hopeful that she'd finally get a chance to make up for her past wrong doings. Hopeful that she'd get a chance to live a happier life.

But it was a foolish, empty hope. The gods had cursed her, this she was sure. The world was conspiring against her and there was nothing she could do but take the punishment that was dished out. Again and again.

it was so unfair.

She couldn't resist an absolute command. Not one with that much prana poured into it. And as her disgusting pig of a Master sunk lower and lower over her, all she could think was this.

 _'Once the command seal loses hold, once all this is over, I'm going to make you bleed just like me…'_

* * *

Rin let out a tired sigh. She had gone patrolling with Archer, but no Servant's had taken the bait and challenged her. She supposed it was quite early in the war, all the Servant's hadn't even been summoned yet, so it made sense that everyone was being cautious.

"Master, I think it best you pay more attention to your surroundings rather than your own sulking."

Rin was about to give her Servant a piece of her mind when she saw exactly what Archer was talking about. Rin's eyes widened in recognition as she gasped. Hari rose his head and their eyes met. He coughed up blood into the already existing pool of red around his feet as he doubled over in pain.

"Sempai…help…me…"

The boy collapsed.

"Archer!", Rin shouted as she rushed to her underclassman's side. "Hurry, we need to cover this wound before he bleeds out!"

"Of course!" Archer ripped a strip of the boy's shirt off and began wrapping the wound. He analyzed the wound with a critical eye.

"This isn't a normal wound. There are traces of prana here, like some sort of curse."

Rin's eyes widened before they narrowed. _'So there is a Master attacking innocent bystanders. But why? To harvest prana? No, there are more efficient ways of doing that.'_

Rin looked at Hari's unconscious form and came to one conclusion.

 _'If this has something to do with the war then I can't leave him alone.'_

"Archer, carry him. We'll heal him at home."

"Yes Master."

From the shadows, Avenger grinned. Everything was going according to plan…

 **AN: Mwuahahahaha! Things are happening, and you don't really know what is going on yet! Plans are in motion already and there are still masters that haven't summoned their servant's!**

 **What is Hari planning? What is the true identity of Archer? What will happen to Caster? Why is Angra Manyu a girl? Why does she look so much like Sakura? Will she ever succeed in acting cool with her Master around? Why am I asking so many questions? To build interest, that's why!**

 **See you next time, mortals. Mwuahahahaha!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Eight years ago…_

Sakura did not ask questions. Her questions would not be answered, they would be mocked, so no questions were asked. As such, Sakura asked no questions when she had not been thrown into the worm pit for a week. She had asked no questions when her grandfather claimed he had a new project, and would stay up well into the night laughing to himself at whatever scheme he had concocted.

She asked no questions when, after what felt like only a moment of peace, she was once more thrown into the worm pit, only to find another boy already there.

She asked no questions for hours. She did not scream as the worms crawled over her body, climbing into her through every orifice available to them. She kept her mouth shut, breathing in through her nose to avoid suffocating. The worms could not fit in those holes, and so her nose went ignored.

After a time, the boy sat up, apparently having decided that he had given Zouken enough time to leave the room. He sat partway submerged in the pool of worms, his teeth gritting as he felt them penetrate into him and crawl deeper. Sakura had never thought of trying to move from her position flat on her back before, and so she too sat up.

She promptly felt herself begin to sway. Her muscles tensed as she tried to remain upright. The worms became agitated, moving around her and inside of her frantically. Sakura felt her face turn green as a feeling of nausea settled in the pit of her stomach.

The boy rested a hand on her shoulder. Sakura turned to the boy and tried to convey her confusion, both at how the worms had not become agitated like this at his movement and at the small bit of affection he was showing. Why would he care for her, touch her? She was dirty, and his own state should've been of greater concern.

"Relax." The boy spoke quickly, quietly, and in heavily accented Japanese.

Used to following orders by now, Sakura allowed herself to settle into the pit of worms, letting her arms hang loose and her muscles relax. The worms calmed near instantly. There was still discomfort, but it was no different than when she had laid in the pit. One could argue it was better, as the worms now had access to less of the body.

They still had access to certain uncomfortable areas, but it was better than nothing.

"...thank you…"

Sakura shut her mouth quickly. There was something that just made her mouth in particular one place where she did not want the worms to go. The taste, or perhaps how many would squeeze into the larger orifice, or perhaps it was how hard it would be to breath, but something just made her afraid to open her mouth down here.

Harry gave her a nod before let his hand fall from the plum haired girl's shoulder. He turned, looking off at a wall with his eyes focused on the air in front of him.

"I was only trying to be friendly."

…

"I'm sorry. But it is rather lonely down here, you know?"

…

"No, no, of course you are good company. That isn't what I meant at all."

Sakura tilted her head curiously at the boy as he continued to argue with himself. Sakura knew that her time in the pit had changed her. She was broken now. Was the boy broken as well? Had he been driven mad?

Well, yes, but the voice was real. Not that Sakura knew that.

"I'm not just talking to her because she is cute! I'm not even old enough to notice girls like that yet, even if she is really pretty."

Sakura felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She may have become rather emotionless due to her time in the pit, but this was due to the lack of human contact she had and the general abuse and neglect she suffered. The compliment, even if unintentional and not spoken directly to her, made her heart flutter. And like a starving animal given a taste of divine ambrosia, she'd come to want more of the boy's affections.

* * *

 _Later…_

"...and it is for these reasons that your grandfather has decided to give this poor boy shelter and educate him in the ways of a magus. Any question, granddaughter?"

Sakura asked no questions. Her grandfather grinned, his formal introduction of the small boy, Hari, complete. The boy stood beside Sakura with his head bowed submissively, his hands held together in front of him and his body slouched to take up as little room as possible. This would be the image that Sakura would see for years when Hari was spoken to by Zouken. He would become a bit more lively around others, but not by much.

Though, in moments where Hari thought he was alone, Sakura would find him talking to the empty air around him again. His voice would become teasing and coy, a vast contrast to the shy submissive boy Sakura normally saw. Sakura wished he was as comfortable around her as he was when he spoke to his "Friend-chan". She never quite got there, but she would make progress. He would tease Sakura lightly, throwing in comments that made her blush and stammer, or performing little actions that left her with steam coming out of her ears.

And though Sakura was quite shy herself, she would become something of a protector for the boy. She would learn that she could in fact be rather assertive and vindictive when she wanted to be on that day she first took up the mantle of Hari's guardian.

* * *

 _Two years later (six years ago)..._

Sakura was thinking about her adoptive brother with a small blush on her face. As had quickly become the norm, Hari had once again shown his ability to leave her flustered and embarrassed with a few seemingly innocent words.

 _"Umm…I'm going to the park…if you want to come…", here he paused, then a bright red blush appeared on his face that Sakura was convinced was fake but she couldn't for the life of her find out how he could fake such things, and then he continued quickly, as though dumping the words out of his mouth rather than speaking them. "Uh...never mind! We can't do that yet! My heart won't be able to take it!" He then ran out of the house while yelling "Kyaaa!"_

"Baka Hari-san. Making me so embarrassed, acting like he was asking me on a date...I can't stop thinking about that now!"

Sakura held her face in her hands as she let out a long suffering breath. Still, she understood Hari, to a certain degree at least. She understood that he wanted her to follow him to the park, preferably running after him also shouting in embarrassment. Though she wasn't quite animated enough to do that sort of thing. He was probably waiting for her on the swings so that he could continue to act embarrassed just to make her more embarrassed. Hari was kind of a jerk like that.

"Come on kid, don't be scared, we just want to play with ya."

"Yeah! Just wanna play! Come on!"

"Don't be scared…this will only hurt in the beginning, hehehe…"

Sakura lifted her head at the sound of the three voices. There, in front of her was Hari with his back up against the playground jungle gym as three dirty looking men surrounded him. They dressed in large coats and were covered in grease. They were fat and pimply, with crooked teeth and blood shot eyes.

"Come on kid…just let us take care of you…", the man in the center, he had on these big round glasses and his thinning hair was combed over to hide his bald spot, said as he began to fiddle with his belt.

Sakura didn't really understand what was going on, but she understood that these men were going to do something bad to him and that Hari was scared.

Hari kept his frightened mask up as he summoned a black ball of energy behind his back. The ball held the concept of [castration], and he felt it would be the perfect thing to use on these pedophiles. Friend-chan stood in front of him, arms held out as though to shield the boy, but there was nothing that the imaginary friend could actually do.

"Stay away from my otōto you creeps!"

Hari, along with said creeps, turned suddenly towards Sakura in response to her rather uncharacteristic outburst. The dark ball dissipated as Hari lost focus, too shocked both by Sakura's arrival and how she looked.

Sakura was leaning forward, her legs wide and her hands balled into fists. Her eyes seemed to glow in her anger and her hair seemed to be defying gravity with the way it was whipping around her head. It was a side of Sakura that Hari had never seen before.

He had to admit, the heat he felt rising to his cheeks was definitely real at that moment.

The pig with a comb over blinked in surprise before a smile that was probably supposed to be calming appeared on his face. "I'm sorry, but I think there has been a bit of a misunderstanding. You see, we were just-"

Sakura punched him in the groin.

The man collapsed onto the ground with tears in his eyes as his hands held his wounded pride. He tried to squeak something out, but he was once more interrupted, this time by Sakura's foot breaking his nose. Now laying on the ground with blood flowing down his face, the pig felt his eyesight begin to fade. It would've been a slow descent into Morpheus' arms had Sakura not then proceeded to stomp on what was left of his pride until there was nothing left but pain.

"YOU'RE NEXT!" Sakura glared at the other two men with a demonic look on her face. The other two pigs, utterly terrified by the show of brutality, promptly turned around and ran away screaming and crying.

Sakura was about to give chase before she remembered exactly why she had just given the man beneath her an involuntary sex change. Rushing to his side, Sakura embraced Hari in a near bone crushing hug as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Sakura then held him away at arm's length and began to fuss over him as she checked him for hidden injuries. "Are you okay, Hari-san? Did they hurt you?"

Hari didn't answer, instead he simply stared gobsmacked at his adopted sister, his eyes holding shock and…hope?

"...you called me otōto…"

Sakura shot her brother a concerned look, confused by the odd statement.

"Well, yeah, that's what you are, my otōto." Sakura answered the boy honestly.

"...you've never called me that before…I've never had a family…"

Sakura felt her heart constrict in a way that was both painful and while still being the most wonderful feeling she had ever felt. "You have a family now. You have me. You are my otōto, and you always will be."

Hari looked up at Sakura with a genuine blush adorning his cheeks and non-counterfeit tears pooling behind his eyelids. He smiled a wide happy smile as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Sakura felt her heart break a little at the sight of those tears, unfamiliar as she was with the concept of tears of joy.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Sakura-san. I'm so glad to have a big sis like you!" Harry practically shouted as he threw himself back into his sister's embrace, knocking the two of them to the ground in the process, saying the words "big sis" in his first language, English.

And just like that Sakura's heart mended and was sent aflutter.

They stayed like that, laying in each other's arms in the grass, for near an hour in a comfortable silence before Hari finally spoke again.

"I love you, big sis…"

Sakura looked at her brother in surprise, unsure how to respond. But as she looked at her brother, her otōto, and saw the expectant, hopeful, and truly desperate look on his face, she knew that there was only one answer.

"I love you too, otōto."

The moment was ruined by the glasses wearing pedophile groaning as he began to wake. Hari shot a ball of pure black energy at the man in his annoyance without getting up. The man let out a girlish scream before he was once more rendered unconscious.

 **AN: Put your pitchforks and torches away. I know, I know, it is a flashback chapter, which means that the plot wasn't advanced, which I'm sure has upset some of you. But guess what, I don't care! Seriously! What could you wee mortals possible do to me!? Mwuahahahaha!**

 **Also, I really needed to flesh out Hari's relationship to Sakura. This was the easiest way.**

 **Oh, and you also got a brief glimpse at Hari's magic! Note, no one knows the full extent of what Hari can do with his little brand of magic. As far as Zouken is concerned, Hari is just making use of his natural advantages with how much od he produces and how much prana he can channel due to the broken fragments of the grail embedding themselves in him by throwing around balls of pure prana with destructive effects. Expect me to have fun with this. Kukuku...**

 **There was originally a typo that made a line read "Hari shit a ball of pure black energy" rather than "shot". It is fixed now, but I felt like noting that that was a thing at one point as it is hilarious. I literally broke into a fit of giggles after AnimeA55Kicker pointed this out in a review. That honestly made my day. Hahahaha**


	5. Chapter 5

Archer was not a fan of his and his master's new guest. The boy, Hari, had been recovering in a guest room in the Tohsaka estate for two days after he had been found bleeding and on death's door. His master, Rin, had tried to question the boy, but the boy could remember little from the attack. All he remembered was being stabbed with some sort of "gaudy outdated weapon", as the boy said. From the boy's description of the attack, the speed the adversary had and the apparent range of the weapon, Rin came to the logical conclusion that the attacker was the Lancer of this war. Though all the evidence points towards this being the guilty party, Archer wasn't prepared to accept this as being the certain truth just yet.

After Hari had recovered enough to leave his room, what Rin lacked in knowledge of healing magecraft she made up for in the sheer amount of prana she had stored in jewels, it had been decided that he would remain under his master's protection until Lancer was eliminated from the war. Whatever the motives were behind this attack, the boy would likely become a target of the master who failed to kill him, if he wasn't a target already.

Archer understood the reasons behind keeping the boy in the estate. He understood that they couldn't just leave the boy to die. He understood that this was the right thing to do.

But the boy was driving him mad!

Wherever the boy went chaos followed! Paintings became crooked, books were placed out of order, furniture was moved and turned just far enough to be painfully noticeable…it was unbearable! Everything had a place. Everything contributing to the picture of perfection that the estate had become after Archer's summoning. And the little bloody devil was ruining it! If Archer had been a normal human he was sure that the boy would've turned his hair grey in only the four days that he had been up and about.

His master thought the boy to be a little angel, innocence given human form. It was infuriating! How could she not see his true form!? His true nature!? Why did his master have to be so easily infatuated with this devil!?

AND HOW THE HELL DID HE MANAGE TO BREAK THE DOOR SO THAT IT NO LONGER FIT PROPERLY IN THE FRAME!?

Hari chuckled a bit as he watched the well dressed butler-san rage over his latest prank. All he had done was mess with the hinges of the door a bit to make the door slightly crooked, but knowing how frustrated the servant was- _it is funny because he was actually a Servant_ -he'd probably be howling in anger for quite a while before he calmed down enough to realize the solution. Archer was incredibly intelligent, this Hari knew, but he was also easily frustrated. This made him so fun to tease. This was made even more amusing by how Rin kept coming to his aid every time Archer tried to scold him.

Hari knew it would take time for his plans to come to fruition, so he would be staying at the Tohsaka estate for a while, but the least he could do was have some fun.

Now…how was he going to get Rin all flustered today? Kukuku…

* * *

Sakura was understandably worried. Hari had not been to the house in a week, and had not been to school either. The obvious explanation was that he was hiding because of the war, isolating himself from the rest of the world so that he could devote all his attention towards winning. And it also made a certain amount of sense defensively. While the Matou's had strong defenses, it would be under heavy surveillance by the other masters, and it would be where everyone would expect Hari to be if and when they learned that he was representing the Matous. Avenger had been dropping by regularly to get food, and while it may seem that this was done because Hari was hungry and didn't have a readily accessible supply of food, or he was simply too lazy to make his own meals, Sakura knew better. If Avenger was seen in the house, then the masters who were no doubt watching the house would be led to believe that her master was in the house as well.

It was a clever deception, but not having Hari's whereabouts known to her still made Sakura anxious. This was a war between beings of inhuman power. A single attack from a Noble Phantasm may be all that is needed to kill her otōto. And what if a master hadn't been fooled by Hari's ruse? What if there was an Assassin sneaking into Hari's current hideout right now!

Images of her uncle, Kiriya, sprang to Sakura's mind unbidden. She wouldn't lose someone else to this stupid war. She couldn't!

Sakura wouldn't notice the command seals that had appeared on her hand until a classmate would point them out to her a few hours later.

* * *

Avenger grinned as she ate the food she had gotten from Sakura earlier that day. True, she didn't need to eat, but that didn't mean that she didn't enjoy it. Yes, it was difficult to enjoy a meal with Hari what with his constant need to embarrass and tease everyone around him, but that just gave her all the more reason to make use of her time alone.

That boy that Hari had her watching, Shirou, led a pretty boring life, so she had to get her entertainment from somewhere. She had played solitaire, taken up origami, and had even began keeping a diary just to keep herself from dying of boredom. All she needed to do was wait for the boy's command seals to appear, then she'd be able to set the next stage of her master's plans into motion.

Avenger wished those seals would just appear already, but alas, control over such things were beyond even her.

Still…watching the idiot hurt himself everytime he used magic was fairly amusing.

* * *

Lancer's master glared at the note in their hands. It was an insult to everything that they had to be proud of. Their defenses, their strength, their intelligence…EVERYTHING!

Included with the note was a photo taken, somehow, from inside his home. The picture was a candid shot of himself as he drank tea in front of a window. And through the window the boy could be seen with his wide, disgusting, grinning face pressed against the glass as he made a peace sign. How he got someone or something inside his home to take this photo, he didn't know. How he got passed his bounded fields in the first place, he didn't know. How that damn boy was still alive, he didn't know.

The note read, ' _I got a 1UP, bitch. 1v1? glhf lol_ '

What the magus did know was that this boy had just insulted him and his defenses. Had just spit upon his prestige as a magus. Had just shat upon his reputation! He could not let this stand! It didn't matter that it was now apparent that the boy was a magus himself, he'd kill the little son of a bitch.

"Lancer."

"Yes master?"

"I want you to find this boy, bring him to me, then kill him. Slowly."

"Of course master."

And with that, Hari's challenge had been accepted.

* * *

Medusa had been waiting. Waiting in solitude for so long. She was used to it though. Exiled in life, exiled in death. Not much had changed. The only difference was that now she was truly alone. There were no heroes landing on these sandy shores to kill. No sisters hiding within a glistening cave to protect. No goddess watching from atop her ivory tower to curse. It was just her and her thoughts here within the Throne of Heroes.

Medusa was not sure what she was waiting for. Did she have any reason to wait? What point was there to her new existence? Was she simply meant to sit here in this cosmic time out chair and think about what she had done? What had she done? She killed people, yes, but it had been done to protect her sisters. Was that not justification enough? What would she have to do to escape this place? This limbo where time stood still…

Then she felt it. A voice that she didn't hear with her ears but she heard nonetheless. A tug at her soul and a push at her back. A feeling like she was falling and yet as though gravity no longer had hold over her. Was she being summoned? Would this be her chance? But what reason did she have to leave this place? What could she wish for? That that bitch Athena had never set her sights on killing her and her sisters? That she could be back with her family? An answer would've been so easy to find before, but now, after an eternity here alone, it was hard to place value in anything.

Perhaps that would be her purpose…to fix the damage to herself that had been done by her time in the Throne of Heroes. Yes, she could feel it. She was losing what little bit of her old self, the self that loved her sisters more than anything in the world, to this damned place. She didn't want to turn into the monster Athena made her out to be. Even if she didn't win the war, didn't get to make a wish, at the very least she could try to pick up the pieces of her old self.

And so Medusa answered the call and allowed herself to be placed into the vessel of a Rider.

Sakura stared at the kneeling figure in front of her, a little shocked despite knowing what the ritual would do. Behind her, Zouken grinned. The Matou's chances of winning this war had now essentially doubled. Soon he would have what was rightfully his.

"I am she who has been summoned as Rider." The blindfolded woman spoke, her long purple hair hanging over her face as she kneeled. She looked up at her summoner, a plum haired girl who brought back forgotten memories of Stheno and Euryale. Such a small fragile girl would be participating in this war? "I ask of you, are you my master?"

* * *

Caster grit her teeth as she attended to her master's needs. when not _using_ her, he used her like a maid, having her bathe and clothe him, give him massages, cook for him, etc. He was generally content to wait the war out and allow the other masters to kill each other and instead simply enjoy the _pleasures_ of being a participant in the war.

"Caster, you have an impressive item creation ability, don't you?" The man's voice was like acid in her ear, but she forced herself to smile.

"Yes, master. Is there something that you would like?" She hated him. She hated him so much, but now was not the time. Her time would come though. Soon…

The man grinned lecherously at her, and Caster felt as though a heavy stone was resting in the pit of her stomach. "I see…I saw something interesting on this box the other day. I think I'd like to see it in person."

Caster felt dread fill her. She knew just what this man watched on that box.

"I'd like you to create a milking device, like for cows, so that I may watch it work on you. Do you understand?"

Caster paled at the order. She knew, in the back of her mind, that she had been made to do quite a lot for the man already, but this was the most deviant request yet. And to make her dirty the skill which she was most proud of?

Apparently annoyed by the delay, Her master's hand lashed out and struck Caster on the cheek. "Who said you could think, bitch!? I am your master, and as such you must do everything I say when I say it!? Do you understand!?"

Caster couldn't help it, she let her mask slip. She glared at the disgusting worm. The worm to offense to the dirt's look.

"Oh? Feeling a bit defiant today, aren't we? It seems you've forgotten your place…"

The man raised his arm, the command seals on his hand glowing as they drew prana from the jewel encrusted armband he wore. Who knew how many people died to completely fill all those crystals. He grinned.

"You know, there is actually quite a bit that I've seen on that box that I'd like to try. I say we try all of it."

As she felt the power of the absolute command start to build, Caster hid a grimace. She took a small amount of solace in one simple fact. He only had one command seal left.

 **AN: Blech, one of these day life is going to be the death of me. I wish that I could've gotten this out sooner, but I've had a very busy week. Sorry for the delay, you damn impatient mortals.**

 **Well, on the bright side, most of the set up is pretty much done, and I can start getting into the real action. Lancer and his mystery master have been set on a war path, Rin and Archer are harboring Hari in their home, Sakura has summoned Medusa, and Caster's master only has one command seal left. Expect a fight scene next chapter.**

 **Also, I'm not entirely sure what to do with Ilya in the long run, which is odd for me since normally I know what happens in the beginning and end, and it is the middle that is liable to change. Basically, I'm unsure whether or not Ilya should be on team Hari or not (I don't mean that in a romantic way, I'm talking about alliances and stuff). Ultimately the final decision will be mine, as I am the writer, but feel free to post a review or send a PM giving your opinion. I have SOME plans for Ilya already, so don't think that you can get me to do everything you want me to do with her, but maybe you can get somethings you want stuck in my head enough that I'll write it in.**

 **Until next time, see ya.**


	6. Chapter 6

Shirou had had a long day at school. He was used to getting out of school late, what with him being asked by the student council and teachers to fix various things around the school. He didn't get the title of fake janitor for nothing, afterall. Still, there was a lot that was broken today, and so by the time Shirou had finished with his work it was already dark outside.

'I wonder what I should make for dinner today? Maybe I should-what was that?'

The sound of raging steel and crackling air reached his ears. Above him the street lights flickered and dimmed, making a low hum that almost drowned out the sounds of battle. Something was going on in the courtyard. Someone could be in trouble! He needed to help them! Save them!

Without a second thought, Shirou ran towards the battlefield with no weapon in hand. He would later realize how foolish he was, but for now only one thing mattered. Someone was in trouble. He needed to save them. Someone was in trouble. He needed to save them.

Avenger let out a tired sigh as she leaned against the railings of the school roof. "Stupid boy. At this rate he is going to kill himself before I get the chance to." Slowly, a wide grin spread across her face, splitting it in two. "Well, at the very least he'll make a spectacle of his own death." Letting out a low chuckle, Avenger entered astral form and took off to follow the red headed boy.

* * *

Rin gritted her teeth as she watched Archer battle the enemy Lancer. True, it was apparent that Archer was obviously more intelligent than their opponent, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Lancer was much stronger, much faster, and much more experienced in the art of combat. Had this been a proper duel, where strict rules were in play that both sides had to abide by, then Archer would've long since perished. Luckily, in the Holy Grail War a servant could do anything that was necessary to win as long as their master allowed it. True, magi were not supposed to involve civilians in this conflict, or do anything that may reveal magecraft to the world, but that had never stopped the participants in these wars in the past.

Memories of the last war, of a serial killer slaughtering countless children, came to her mind unbidden.

The enemy Lancer looked other worldly, with long white hair and skin of a comparable shade. His pale blue eyes betrayed no emotion, but remained fixated on their target. He was muscular, but could also be described as beautiful, with a slim build accentuated by his skin tight black outfit which left his chest exposed. The tops of his arms and legs were partly covered by golden armor adorned with numerous spikes. A red fire cape billowed behind him like fire. In the center of his chest a red gem could be seen embedded in his flesh.

Archer was smart, utilizing any and every trick he could to exploit his opponent's weaknesses, as few as they were. He kept distance between the two, using his greater range to his advantage, throwing great bolts of lightning at the Lancer from afar. He destroyed the terrain in a manner that would've looked accidental to most, and Rin herself almost didn't notice the true purpose behind this. The ground had been made difficult to navigate. The earth had been torn asunder and now looked as though it had been hit by a mighty earthquake. Lancer couldn't make the most of his superior speed now, as he could not tread a direct path towards his opponent.

Still, Lancer was not even winded. He had dodged every attack and was steadily gaining ground on his foe. Archer wouldn't be able to hold out forever. But hopefully an opening would be made to allow for their escape.

Then Lancer stopped holding back.

"This is annoying." Lancer's eye began to glow as he stared at his opponent intensely. It showed neither hate nor aggression, only raw intensity. "I'm just going to get this over with and kill you now."

From his glowing eye a giant beam of light and energy erupted forth, igniting the sky and reducing the crumbling earth before it to naught but ash. It collided with Archer, pushing him back into the building behind him, then it engulfed him.

When the light faded, Rin could do nothing but watch in shock as Archer stumbled out of the rubble of the now destroyed house. He looked at her and mouthed one word.

Run.

Now with a path cleared in front of him, Lancer moved so fast that to Rin's mortal gaze he seemed to teleport in front of Archer. Helpless, Rin could only watch as Lancer shoved his gaudy spear into the well dressed servant's stomach, he never did take off that suit, and pushed it through his back. Archer's form began to crackle with electricity, but it was too late. He faded away into a cloud of golden particles.

Archer had died.

Rin turned and ran. She didn't stop, she just ran. Even after colliding with someone else, a red haired boy who seemed concerned and tried to stop her, she kept going. Run. Run. Archer's last request. It was as though he was the one with the command seals and he had used one to give her an order. Run.

* * *

The boy had some common sense it seemed. Though he did not hesitate to investigate the source of the destruction he could hear and see, and continued onward even after that girl had ran passed him crying, he had enough sense to realize when he was outmatched. That Lancer was strong. Very strong. Avenger knew of Hari's plans, but it seemed that things had moved faster than expected. And the battle had apparently been much more one sided than predicted as well. Yes, they knew Archer would die, but they had thought he'd put up more of a fight. Lancer wasn't weakened in the slightest.

Well, looks like Avenger wouldn't be able to swoop in and finish Lancer as planned. She had no chance against him like this. And Shirou...well, she hoped he wouldn't die. Hari would be annoyed if so many things went against how he planned them.

Actually, she hoped he died. It would be nice to see the little troll get a taste of his own medicine for once.

The powerful servant turned toward the newcomer. There weren't supposed to be any witnesses. His master had said as much. He did not speak for there was no need to. The boy would be dead soon enough.

Oh, looked like the boy was running. Did he feel his killing intent? No he couldn't have. He hardly let any off at all. Maybe the boy was just scared? Yes, that was reasonable. He supposed he did look quite frightening to these modern day humans. And now the boy was out of sight. Seemed he was lost in his thoughts for too long. Oh well, he'd find the boy soon enough. And with that final thought, he was off.

Shirou was upset. And scared. Mostly scared, but still upset. How could he be a hero if he was so weak? One look from that guy and he felt like he was going to faint! What was that!? That thing couldn't be human. Couldn't even be a magus! It was too strong! Way too strong! He was almost home. Just a few more feet. Just a few more-

He fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. A terrible gash cut its way across his ribs, like a crack in a dam letting a great flood of red erupt from it. He was dying. He was going to die.

He didn't want to die…

Avenger watched as the boy began to crawl. He seemed to be headed towards his workshop, though for what reason she couldn't guess. Odds were he was simply desperate, and was crawling without any real direction. Lancer was gone now, probably left to report to his master. He seemed to have a bad habit of not sticking around to make sure those he killed were dead.

Avenger grinned. Things were still on track it seemed. Shirou was in the shed, his life fading, his blood flowing into the workshop. A light began to glow from within it. Saber had been summoned.

Avenger left. The boy would live. Avalon would see to it that he did, especially now that it's owner was nearby. The summoned servant was too strong for her, but that was fine. Hari had a plan for that too. It was about time that stage two got under way. She just needed to make sure everything was ready.

* * *

Hari hummed in satisfaction. The day had gone well. True, Lancer and Saber were still alive. He'd have to adjust his plans for this, but ultimately they effected things little. Archer was dead, so at least things were going as predicted, even if a bit early. And now, based on Avenger's account of the events, Saber would be against Lancer. Hopefully they'd kill each other in their inevitable battle.

Rin ran into the manor in a panic. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and her chest heaved from both exertion and emotion. She fell heavily upon a nearby chair and seemed to collapse in on herself. Her hands went to her head and covered her eyes. She had just watched a man who, in the short time they had been together, had become a friend and a figure that she admired die. And she was powerless. Now there was a homicidal servant running around, a powerful one at that, and she could do nothing to stop it.

Hari sat beside his host, awkwardly laying a hand on her shoulder in way of comfort. He looked confused, after all, though in truth it was more due to the foreign emotions he was witnessing and less because he didn't know what was going on. He knew exactly what was going on. Archer was dead. Archer had no chance against Lancer. True, the man was smart, but he wasn't a soldier. He had no chance in the war from the very beginning.

"To think I'd make your jeweled heart cry. I must admit, it is nice to feel loved."

Hari and Rin both froze, though for different reasons. Rin slowly separated from Hari and turned towards the speaker. Hari turned as well, mouth agape as he struggled to grasp just how wrong everything had gone.

Archer kneeled on the floor of the manor, his hand clutching a handkerchief as he tried in vain to wipe the soot and blood that surrounded him. He grimace and twitched, though whether out of pain or due to the mess was anyone's guess.

"Still…" Archer began slowly, raising his head to meet his master's gaze. "I feel a little disappointed. You cannot jump to conclusions until you have enough information to formulate one with complete certainty. And you call yourself a prodigy."

He chuckled weakly as Rin took a moment to process his words, then she rushed towards him and engulfed him in a desperate hug, crying warm tears as it finally became apparent that he was real.

The two did not notice Hari's scowl. Nothing had gone according to plan. He'd need to adjust things accordingly. He'd have to start moving his queen on the board sooner than expected. The day had not gone well.

A wide grin split across Hari's face suddenly despite everything. He couldn't wait to see Rin's face. Avenger was not the only servant summoned outside of the usual seven. It was time to release another of the world's victims. One of the first.

Alter Ego was ready.

 **AN: Your god has returned! Sorry for the long wait, but life has been a bitch. On the bright side, found out that my achievement scholarship has increased. So yeah, education and all that.**

 **I honestly had this close to completion for a while, but just wasn't able to work on it. Then yesterday I read through all the reviews you guys have written and thought, damnit, I'm gonna make time! So I did! That is right, mortals! Your prayers were heard, and they were answered!**

 **Not my best chapter, I admit, but I need a transition between the intro and the action. Chapters past this point should be longer, I promise.**

 **Yeah, Hari isn't infallible. His plans don't always work out, even with the advantage of Avenger feeding him info on his enemies. Expect Hari to act a bit more erratically for a short time due to this. He is pissed, and Alter Ego will be the hand of his wrath.**

 **Also, sorry, but Alter Ego isn't one of the Alter Ego's from the Moon Cell, but Someone else who has been given the title.**

 **I promise the next wait won't be as long. But if you are still nervous just pray (review) and I shall answer!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: quick word of caution for those weak of will and mind and stomach. There are some graphic scenes near the end of this chapter. I tried to keep it toned down, but I just felt this little warning was necessary.**

The mail man was truly the unsung hero of mankind. He held the world together and forged connections between individuals worlds apart. He holds the very balance of the world in his satchel as he strides across the green lawn to deliver the white gold that was the day's mail. Yes, the mail man had held in his hands a great many miracles. The bleeding heart of a romantic as he wrote to his distant lover, the cherished lullabies of a mother as she whispered soothingly into her son's ears from afar, the very livelihood of the working man, and the hopes and dreams of politicians as they sought to soar to new heights.

Truly the mail man was a great hero, even today in a time of texting and computers.

Alter Ego grinned sadistically behind her mask as she walked into the post office, her hands gripping twin katanas dripping with blood. The unsung heroes wept and pissed themselves as they huddled together, their final stand nothing more than desperate pleas for mercy.

A box, small and black, rested on the counter. It shook with untold power. It was a package to be delivered. And these heroes would deliver it. They would, for Alter Ego demands it, and secretly they want to listen. All she needed to do was give them a little shove and they'd crumble. They'd deliver mankind its own destruction.

For everyone, deep down inside, wants the same thing. Everyone wants to watch the world burn.

* * *

Hari wasn't jealous.

No, jealousy was for humans who were so insecure about themselves, and how could they not with their endless flaws, that they desperately sought reassurance in the form of companionship and meaningless little abstractions. Friendship. Joy. Love. Blech. Disgusting.

Hari wasn't jealous. Just...bored...and annoyed.

His little bejeweled toy was being hoarded by that stupid genki! He could hardly get a rise out of her with how much attention she was giving Archer! And he could hardly get a rise out of Archer with how that stupid little pigtailed tsundere kept cleaning things up herself and taking care to keep the bastard calm! She was his toy! His!

"Hari?"

"EEEP!"

Hari spun around to face the speaker, only to find Rin there with that stupid genki Archer behind her. Damn him. How he wished he'd just drop dead.

"D-Don't scare me like that..." Hari managed to hide his rage behind a stutter. He really needed to unwind. Burn off some of his psychopathy on a killing spree or something. That one rat he killed just wasn't enough.

"Hari, are you okay? You seem distracted." So Rin was concerned? How foolish. He was fine. She was the one being distracted.

"...yeah...I'm fine. S-sorry for worrying you...I guess I'm just...you know...tired of being locked up in here..." Hari shuffled his feet shyly and refused to meet Rin's eyes.

Archer looked at him skeptically, perhaps able to tell that there was something else wrong but too polite to pry. Instead he kneeled down and laid a hand on Hari's shoulder. "I know, and I am sorry that we have to keep you hear like this, but it is still dangerous outside. That man who attacked you is still out there."

Gods Hari wanted to strangle him.

"I-I know..." He gave his bested kicked puppy look, and turned slightly so that Rin would receive the full force of it.

"Well...", Rin bean slowly, "I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if we all went somewhere together. Like a movie? Not like a date! Just to, you know, give you some fresh air."

Oh~ He could use this...

" Th-That sounds good..." Hari made his eyes sparkle with joy and hope. Ugh. Disgusting...

Archer stood a bit too abruptly, but remained silent. Still, he shot Rin a look out of the corner of his eye. Hari got the feeling that they'd be having words after this.

That was good. This date could work to further his plans and to drive a wedge between those two. Perfect.

"Archer, are you hungry? Well of course you aren't, who has ever heard of a servant getting hungry, but would you like some food?" Hari twitched when he heard Rin speak.

"Worry not, Master. No need to go to the trouble."

"It isn't like I was going to cook just for you or anything! I was just...going to practice my skills. Yeah. And I just thought you might want to sample some of my stuff." Rin crossed her arms and looked away in a very tsundere way. Hari twitched again.

"Oh? In that case, what Western dishes do you know?"

Hari couldn't wait to ruin them...

* * *

Shirou woke with a groan and what felt like chronic back pain, except in his side. Chronic side pain? Was that a thing? Anyways, that wasn't the only thing odd. He had the oddest dream too. Destruction. A monster with white hair. Him bleeding out. A blonde angel in blue...

"What a weird dream..."

"Master, are you feeling better?"

"AH!"

...

"So let me get this straight." Shirou and the blonde girl who introduced herself as Saber sat across from each other at the dinner table. Saber was a fairly short woman, though she did not appear that short when compared to most women in Japan. Shirou would have to admit that she was rather pretty and regal looking, what with the blue dress and shining armor making her look like a knight from the Western world. Shirou felt a little upset at having to be saved by a hero when he was supposed to be the one doing the saving, but he ignored the feeling for now.

"So, what you are saying is that you aren't human, but the spirit of a famous hero or something." Saber nodded. "And because I summoned you I'm now part of some secret war between Magi who also have heroes helping them." Another nod. "And we are fighting for some holy cup that can grant wishes." Nod.

Shirou let out a sigh. "What is this? A visual novel?"

"Do not make light of this, Master. This is a war. Lives are at stake, including yours. It is best that you take this seriously so that we can survive until the end."

Shirou clenched his fist resolutely as he shot the shorter woman a determined look. "Don't worry. I'll see to it that no one dies needlessly in this war."

* * *

The door bell was a welcome sound. It allowed Caster a reason to leave her disgusting Master's presence, even if for an incredibly short period. So when the door bell rang Caster made her way to answer before her Master could even order her to. The house was small and simple, a little ways outside of Fuyuki and was only bought for the purposes of the war. Nonetheless, it was still extravagantly furnished as though it were a mansion.

"Hello?" Caster answered the door dressed in a long sleeved black shirt with a yello and a long tan skirt. She tilted her head curiously when she saw the mailman a,ready walking down the street to the next house. Did mailmen often ring doorbells then leave before anyone can answer? She didn't think so, but perhaps he had been having a bad day and simply wanted to get finished with work as soon as possible.

Looking down Caster found a small package sitting innocently at her feet. It was rectangular, resembling a shoe box, and was wrapped in brown paper and tied shut with a small piece of string. There was no return address on it, which was strange, and, in fact, there was nothing on the package on it at all. No indication of where the package was to be sent. No stamps. Nothing. Nothing except...a round yellow smiley face sticker staring up at her with a wide 'u' shaped grin.

Feeling a tad apprehensive, Caster bent over to pick up the box...

 _Destruction. Mayhem. Chaos._

Caster let out a startled shriek as she fell back, dropping the box as she collapsed onto the ground. The box landed on its side, that yellow face smiling at her. Laughing at her. She brought a hand to clutch at her heart which beat painfully against her chest. The darkness of the box was dormant now, but for a moment she felt it.

What 'it' was, she had no idea, but it was evil. Evil and dark. Evil and insane. Evil and laughing. What was that laughing? Was the box laughing? Was it laughing at her?

"What is taking so long!?"

Caster cringed as her master came stomping into the front room dressed in stained jeans and a wife beater. 'How appropriate.' He looked down at the Heroic Spirit with a look of disgust before he turned his eyes to the package. He looked at it curiously, before turning back to his Servant with an angry snarl.

"Well, bitch? What are you doing on the ground? You aren't allowed down there unless you are cleaning or sucking me off!" He smiled to himself, apparently thinking his statement somehow clever. He kicked Caster over onto her side as he stepped over to grab the small box, grumbling to himself all the while.

Caster made to warn her Master, but it was too late.

Tearing the string and paper off of the package, her Master revealed the smooth black box underneath. It was so dark it absorbed the light around it, consuming it like a ravenous wolf, half starved and rabid. It appeared to be made of some sort of smooth metal, a metal that Caster immediately knew to be cold despite not having any way of knowing. Her Master flipped the top open on its hinges, and the sound of laughter filled the room.

Laughter. Slaughter. They were so close. Just one letter difference.

Dark tendrils erupted from the box like ink blots staining the very reality of the universe. Her master screamed as he was lifted into the air, by those dark tendril. The box clattered to the floor, but that did little to stop the darkness from growing. The tendrils held her Master face down with his limbs spread eagled as he lay suspended in the air. One tendril rose above him and slapped down on his back with a painful crack followed by a whimper from its captive and another giggle from the box. It rose again then snapped back down. Over and over the tendril whipped the man as he screamed and yelled, yet no one seemed to hear. Even to Caster his voice seemed muted. It was so hard to hear. All she could hear were those giggles as another tendril rose to join its counterpart in whipping the man, tearing into his flesh and staining his wife beater red with his own blood.

"Help! HELP! BY *crack* THE POWER *crack* OF MY COMMAND *crack crack* SEAL! *crack* SAVE ME!

Caster felt herself snap out of her reverie. She rose to her feet, her purple robes materializing on her body, and she felt herself summon dragontooth warriors and hurl fire balls at the black abomination despite a large part of her really wanting her Master dead. More tendrils erupted from the box, impaling her warriors and batting her spells away. One shot towards her, large and menacing but slower than the rest, giving her time to teleport out of the way.

The house was quickly destroyed by a combination of thrashing tendrils, struggling dragontooth warriors and great balls of fire setting it, and other houses, ablaze. Caster felt herself begin to sweat as she tried to break through the monstrosity's defenses, but no matter what she did, no matter what angle she attacked from or how large her army became the tendrils would not let her through.

She heard her Master scream as his jeans were shredded by a number of rapid whips to his legs and backside. As the battle wore on, Caster could feel her Master's life fading. Caster, in one last ditch effort to fulfill his command, teleported past the tendrils directly into the eye of the storm.

For a brief moment it looked like she'd managed it. All she'd need to do was grab her Master then teleport away. Then a tendril, fat and hungry, erupted from the box beneath her and impacted into her stomach. Caster felt herself crash painfully into the ground, then felt as the tendril slammed against her once more. She tried to teleport away but...she couldn't muster up the power to. She had the prana necessary, but she just couldn't channel it.

 _Cripple. Weakness. Sloth._

Caster could only watch with conflicting feelings of desperation and sadistic glee as her Master was held aloft by the tendrils. As he was whipped by them, another rose behind him. It made small circles in the air, mockingly, teasingly, before shoving itself past the remains of his cloths and into his rectum as another rose and forced the man to choke on it. Tears welled in his eyes as he gagged and was visibly expanded by the tendrils, his back now devoid of skin and much of its flesh and his legs close to the same condition as he was continued to be whipped. Another tendril rose from below and-

Caster looked away as it forced itself into her Master's urethra, splitting his manhood in two with its immense size. He screamed. Screamed so loud that it was audible past the the thrusting gag in his mouth. Finally his life was ended as his stomach erupted, the tendril in his rear erupting out his intestines then out of his body through his gut. The mangled corpse was dropped onto the floor in a bloody heap and the tendrils retreated back into their container.

Now free, Caster rose on shaky legs, eyes wide and disbelieving as she looked down on her abuser. She took note of the yellow sticker which now stood out prominently on his forehead. When had that been stuck there? Had one of the tendrils done that?

It grinned at her, stained with blood yet still yellow for the most part. Caster heard laughter, and she could have sworn she heard a voice speak.

"Did you like it, Caster-chan?"

Caster turned and fled. Fled as fast as she could. She was free, but never had she felt more afraid. The laughter was following her, and all around her she saw black tendrils erupting from the roofs of houses as more and more boxes were opened. Caster ran, and behind her her former Master's head turned to face her, the sticker on his forehead grinning and laughing. The purple clad woman could run, but soon there would be nothing left. Soon nothing would be beyond Alter Ego's reach.

* * *

Rin watched the news that night, something only possible because of Archer's skill with machines and electronics, with a grim expression on her face, one mirrored by the genius who sat beside her.

Mass destruction, dozens dead, more wounded, countless traumatized to the point of insanity. Corpses penetrated and stabbed. Houses destroyed with round holes through them and burnt as if fire upon by a laser beam. And the atrocity occurring in a period of time impossibly short.

"Lancer has to be stopped." Rin clenched her fists in her lap until her knuckles turned white, her eyes glaring at the television with intense determination.

Archer shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. Something was off about this, but he opted to remain silent. He hadn't even formulated a sound hypothesis yet, and he felt it would be smarter to go after a known enemy first before chasing one that may or may not exist anyways.

Still, he'd be extra vigilant, lest this unknown variable get the drop on him and his Master.

* * *

"Saber." Shirou spoke with barely restrained rage.

"I know. To think he'd do something like this." Saber's own voice mirrored her Master's.

"We have to stop him."

"Worry not. Next time we fight I will see to it that Lancer is cut down."

 **AN: Consider this coming out so soon an apology for making you all wait so long last time. I pretty much spent all my free time for the last couple of days doing this.**

 **Alter Ego has made her entrance, and my what an entrance it was. It seems that Lancer has been framed, and now all those people he failed to kill are gonna bite him in the ass. Huh. Cu Chulainn was the victim of the running gag that he always died, and this Lancer seems to be unable to kill anyone. Maybe the Lancer class is cursed?**

 **I wanted to try and fit The battle with Lancer into this chapter, but after reading it, the pace made no sense. So yeah, a couple scenes of the next chapter are done though because of that, so that's good.**

 **Don't forget to pray (review), dear mortals. And remember...smile :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So, when I posted this chapter a a few hours ago it was rife with grammatical errors due to the fact that I had to write it on my tablet since the public computer lab nearby was closed for reasons. Luckily, someone PMed me pointing these out and I have since fixed them. As such, I'd like to thank Greysongarr for helping out, and for agreeing to Beta my future chapters. Huzzah!**

Darkness, cold and pure and true, stretched out into the vast expanse of space without regard for human perception. It cared not for the humans' desire to explore its depths. Instead it stood stagnant and true surrounding the Earth as a thick suffocating pillow pressed over the mouth of mankind. The darkness watched as mankind thrashed and struggled, fascinated by the human desire to live and survive. It observed in detached intrigue as humanity kicked and cried, loosening its hold just enough to allow mankind just one torturous breath before descending upon it once more. And in that moment the darkness felt something akin to glee…

* * *

Hari awoke from his dream with a start. That dream, surreal and demented, was a constant reminder. A constant reminder of what made him different. A reminder of what he saw and knew and had to do.

 _The darkness grinned in something akin to glee as the body beneath it struggled for life…_

Hari watched the world around him with a sense of wonder that not many knew he had. It was a stagnant constant. The cracks in the old walls and floors as they spiderwebbed across the house created twisted mazes and epic journeys beneath his gaze. The rays of the early morning sun illuminated dull colors that twisted and merged into an exquisite painting of faces laughing and talking and yelling and eating. A cheshire cat grin formed in the air before fading away as the colors settled back into the lines of the objects that they belonged on. Shadows rose as deranged caricatures of men with long skeletal fingers and thin starved frames. Their mouths opened in silent laughs, the darkness bringing itself joy and amusement with its counterfeit humans dancing in the sun.

The light brought the darkness such joy. Hari giggled despite himself. He wished he could laugh out loud, but he learned to keep the laughter in his head. One would think it would be much more empty without Friend-Chan, but his mind had never been more full. Without someone to talk to, he was forced to talk to himself, and he loved to talk. The chatter was ceaseless.

Rin would be awake soon, and Archer never slept. Now was not the time to entertain hallucinations, no matter how much he wanted to. He had work to do. People to see, and all that. Alter Ego was itching for another massacre, so he'd have to find a way to satisfy her. Though they shared a mutual love of the floating illusions, it wasn't enough to distract her for long. If anything, the cracks in the walls, the colors in the light and the shadows masquerading as humans only served as inspirations for her next show, and made her all the more eager to put her ideas into practice.

Besides that, he also had to give Avenger new orders. This little date he was about to have with Rin would provide a wonderful opportunity, and he needed to be sure that every piece was in place for the best outcome. Speaking of the date, he had to prepare for that as well. It sure was tiring being an evil mastermind.

* * *

Shirou wasn't entirely sure what they were looking for. Sure, Saber had said that she would be able to feel if another servant was nearby, but he felt like there were better ways of finding Lancer than just walking around aimlessly hoping to run into him. Shirou may not be the smartest person in the world, but he was pretty sure that Lancer would be laying low right now. After all, with that large display of carnage he put on just recently, his master had to know that there would be other masters looking for him, right?

Still, Shirou supposed this was for the best. Patrolling the city meant that he and Saber would be able to react faster should something happen. Shirou knew from his father just what sort of people these magi were, and he would not allow them to take anymore innocent lives.

"Master." Saber began to get Shirou's attention. Shirou internally sighed at this. No matter how hard he tried the girl refused to break whatever formality she followed and simply call him by his name. The only time she seemed to loosen up was when he made her food.

Honestly, that girl could really eat.

"There is another Servant nearby."

Shirou stumbled slightly in surprise. He honestly hadn't expected to run into Lancer so quickly. What was this, their first night patrolling? And they had already run into the villain? What were the odds.

"Come on, Saber. We have to make sure no one gets hurt." And with that the two were off.

* * *

"S-senpai...you have something...um...there is some icecream...um…"

Rin watched with a bit of amusement as Hari stumbled over his words. Initially this "date" of theirs had simply been to help alleviate some of Hari's boredom, but Rin honestly found herself enjoying it. They had eaten lunch together and then took the time to watch a couple movies. Rin had decided that they should watch a comedy, as it looked light hearted and seemed like a fairly safe bet as far as movies went. The movie was alright. It got them to laugh, though it didn't have much in the way of plot and there were quite a few references that her and Archer didn't quite understand.

Afterwards Hari wanted to watch a horror movie that had come out recently. According to him it was supposed to be really scary and he had been wanting to see it for a while. Rin, while surprised by his choice, decided to indulge the boy and the three of them had gone in to see the movie. Rin doubted anything in the movie would frighten her, and was prepared for a boring couple of hours.

Rin was both right and wrong. She hadn't been afraid, though she had also had a rather...eventful time. Neither of which was actually because of the movie. In truth, Rin couldn't even remember who or what the main monster was. She was simply distracted.

Hari, it turned out, was very frightened by the movie. He spent the entire movie clinging onto her arm, occasionally hugging her completely and burying his face into her side as if to hide. Rin found herself too embarrassed by the close contact to focus on the screen in front of her. More than once Rin had turned to Archer for help, only to find him ranting under his breath in annoyance about how stupid all the people in the movie were and pointing out everything that didn't make sense.

Afterwards they had eaten dinner at a small restaurant that sold Korean barbeque. Archer, ever willing to try new things, had been overjoyed by the opportunity to sample cuisine from an unfamiliar country, and had spent much of the meal unintentionally flirting with the waitress as he asked her questions about how the food was prepared and about the culture that it came from. Hari was quiet throughout the meal, smiling as he ate and thanking Rin multiple times over the course of the dinner. Occasionally he would open his mouth to ask something, but then he'd cut himself off and look away blushing. Of course, Hari's embarrassment had the effect of making Rin imagine what he might've asked, and she too would find her face turning the same shade as her jacket.

Hari leaned forward suddenly and wiped some ice cream off of the corner of her face, though to Rin it felt more intimate than that, like a gentle caress. Hari blushed in embarrassment when he realized what he did, as did Rin.

Overall the entire thing had been fun, if somewhat stressful.

It was only natural that something would go horribly wrong.

"Master, it appears we have some unwanted guests." Archer turned westward, his eyes calculating as his mind computed the best course of action. Rin's eyes widened as she spun to face Hari.

Before she could even speak he rose his hand and smiled at her in a manner that conveyed a sense of understanding.

"You want me to run, right?" Rin nodded. "Ok. Just...be safe." Hari turned and ran in the general direction of the Tohsaka manor as quickly as he could. Rin watched him until he was out of sight, then turned to face their adversary.

…

"Wait...the fake janitor?"

"Tohsaka?"

Saber glared at her fellow servant, her hand gripping the hilt of her invisible blade. "You aren't Lancer."

Archer hummed in amusement, posture relaxed. "Very astute. I take it that you are Saber?

"That is correct."

Suddenly another presence made itself known. It crashed onto the ground hard, kicking up a cloud of dust. Through this, a single glowing eye could be seen, looking around critically as if in search of something.

Everyone went silent, then at once the two young Masters and their Servants got into position for battle. They all spoke as one. "Lancer."

* * *

Avenger panted tiredly as she held her bleeding side. Luring Lancer out under the guise of an Assassin coming in to kill his Master had been easy. Not getting killed had been the hard part. Lancer was fast, and had the single minded determination of a hunting dog. Still, this made him predictable, and though Avenger had to take a few hits, she ultimately succeeded in leading Lancer to Saber and Archer before making her escape.

Honestly, though, this was such a pain. Why did she get stuck with all the grunt work? Surely Alter Ego could've at least helped. Oh well, she supposed that psycho would be doing her part. Still, that little nut better be sure to restrain herself. They would not be able to blame another disaster like the last one on Lancer.

* * *

Kirei hummed as he watched the evening news. The Holy Grail war was in full swing, as evidenced by the recent disaster. Still, the cause of the disaster was a mystery. Kirei knew of Lancer's abilities thanks to his familiars providing him with knowledge of the battle that took place between him and Archer. And as easy as it was to blame Lancer for the massacre, he could not, for it was too easy. Any Magus would know to cover their tracks, and despite Lancer's potential to cause massive amounts of collateral damage, he was much like the weapon after which his class is named. Fast and precise. Though the disaster did indeed happen incredibly quickly, it lacked the precision one would expect of an obedient soldier like Lancer, and Kirei doubted that Lancer's master would order such a grand calamity.

No, the only explanation was that someone had set out to frame Lancer, to turn the other Masters against him. But who? It was frustrating not knowing who the other manipulator in this war was. Frustrating knowing that he was sharing the marionette strings with someone else, but that was fine. While this manipulator was skilled, they lacked the subtlety and finesse that Kirei had. They were an active manipulator, pushing pieces around to suit their plans whereas Kirei was much more passive, instead only giving small nudges or omitting certain pieces of information. Between the two puppet masters, it was obvious which one would be ousted first. Kirei only needed to bide his time until then. Ultimately this person affected his plans little. Things were still going on track.

Kirei paused when he saw a man, middle aged and balding dressed in a well worn business suit, sitting in the pews. It was a tad strange for someone to be at the church at this time of night, but not necessarily unheard of.

 _"Are you done scheming, or should I hold off on reporting until morning?"_

Kirei heard the voice in his head rather than in his ears. The man stood and smirked at the priest, his appearance changing to that of a blonde woman in a red dress. Kirei rolled his eyes at Assassin and began walking towards the door that led to the basement. "Report."

Assassin followed a few steps behind their Master and began 'speaking'. _"The German Master arrived by plane only an hour ago."_ Kirei nodded. He already knew that. _"More interesting though is that another Servant, apparently pretending to be an Assassin, attempted to take the life of Lancer's Master. They failed, of course, but this Servant apparently succeeded in luring Lancer over to two other Servants, Saber and Archer."_

Now that was interesting. It seemed that the little manipulator was making his play, and so soon as well. It seemed that the puppet master was rather impatient. Kirei could use that.

Kirei listened as Assassin told him where the battle that was no doubt starting would take place, moving familiars as necessary towards the area. Assassin was supposed to relay information to Kirei through the Master-Servant link, but Assassin had been proving rather difficult to control. He had the uncanny ability to ignore orders from command seals. Well, not so much ignore as go around. He'd misinterpret every order and carry it out in a way that best suited him. It was endlessly frustrating, but Kirei found that as long as didn't actively try to force a command on his Servant, Assassin would do as he said for the most part.

Honestly, the servant was probably better suited for the Berserker class with his apparent insanity, but having an Assassin suited the priest much better.

He'd let the other Master's kill each other on their own. All except one. Once Kirei's fellow manipulator ousted himself, Assassin would be the first and last servant to attack the revealed puppet master. After all, there was room for only one evil mastermind here.

* * *

Caster wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, she realized. She had hoped that she could make it to the temple, hoped that she would have enough time to set up a ritual to allow her to pull prana from the intersecting ley lines to keep herself alive, but she had used too much energy on that fight with that...thing. Now here she was, collapsed in some back alley hoping to attract some scum that she could suck the prana out of. Unfortunately, Fuyuki had a rather low crime rate, and Caster was having no such luck.

And so Caster was prepared to die there in the alleyway, illuminated by a flickering street lamp when a shadow was cast over her.

Looking up Caster saw a young boy, a child in appearance, with unruly black hair that covered part of his face and pale skin that created a stark contrast. His face was hard to make out with the streetlight shining behind him like a great halo, but through the shadows she could see his green eyes which held a strange quality that she could not describe. He bent over to get a better look at her, thus letting her see the curious expression on his face. After a short inspection, he grinned a familiar grin, for it was a grin she remembered sometimes seeing in the mirror back when she was alive.

"You're cute!" He beamed, sounding oddly satisfied. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Caster felt herself shake her head in the negative despite not having any real reason to. The boy's grin twisted further upwards. "Do you want one?"

 _Somewhere, Alter Ego laughed._

 **AN: I am honestly no good at incorporating these fight scenes without screwing up the pacing. Oh well, the next chapter will start with the Lancer vs Saber and Archer fight, so that should make things easier on me.**

 **On a different note, Kirei has been revealed to have summoned an Assassin! This servant is a rather obscure one which isn't normally summoned in this class (before you ask, I know Lancelot can also do disguises and I will tell you now Assassin is not him). Kirei has also taken notice in Hari's machinations and is ready to kill him once he is revealed.**

 **Kirei also reveals a bit of a flaw in Hari's character. He likes to be in control. He isn't content to just watch things play out, he has to have a hand in everything. He has to play an active role as he won't be satisfied otherwise. As such, it is actually easier for his plan to go wrong because it is so specific, and it is more likely that someone will find him out. We also see a hint of Hari's insanity, and a vague sense of why he does what he does (if you didn't get it, that is fine. If you think you got it, you may very well be wrong).**

 **Also, Hari and Caster have finally met each other, and boy is Hari happy. He has finally found his cute Caster! Yay!**

 **Until next time, mortals, don't forget to pray (review) and smile. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

There was a beat of silence. A collective intake of breath as Servants and Masters felt tension well up in their bodies. Weapons were slowly drawn, steady and firm, and magic circuits opened as the two young Masters reinforced their bodies. Lancer's eye began to glow, expressionless and hard like the steel of a blade.

Then the battle begun in an explosion of movement. Rin leapt into a side alley out of the line of fire as Archer made distance between himself and the mid-range Servant, electricity coiling up his arms as he shot two great sizzling bolts of lightning at Lancer. Lancer shot forward with impossible speed, kicking up a cloud of dust as he shot himself past Archer's attacks. Saber intercepted him, her invisible blade clashing with his golden lance and deflecting it to the side. Her heels dug into the concrete beneath her as the force of her opponent's blow, even if it had been parried rather than blocked, pushed her backwards.

Shirou stood still for a second, his distortion and desire to be a hero at war with the reality that he could not possibly do anything to help in this conflict. His eyes examined the weapon in Lancer's hands as it was thrust forward again and again, at least a half dozen times that Shirou could actually see, but his mind could not grasp the concept of its creation. Deciding that he wouldn't be able to help by jumping into the fray himself, Shirou rushed into an alley that happened to be across from the one Rin was currently taking shelter in, ducking behind a dumpster and making sure to position himself in such a way that he could watch the battle unfold. He had to think of some way to help.

Saber grimaced as she parried another jab from Lancer's weapon, the flurry of stabs ceaseless, with each thrust coming so quickly that Saber felt like she was parrying three attacks at once. With every clash of blades she lost ground, and she had been unable to get within range to retaliate. Despite the invisibility of her blade, Lancer had found a safe distance to attack from, continuing his flurry of stabs to whittle down his opponent's defenses and keep her on the back foot. Within the span of a single breath, four strikes were sent flying, and before the next breath could start another thrust was already on its way. He would've pressed his advantage, pushing Saber further and further back, keeping her on the retreat and preventing her from establishing a good balance had it not been for Archer's support.

Archer stood a distance away from the battle, hurling electricity seemingly at random. However, what Archer lacked in combat experience he made up for in sheer intelligence. Each bolt of electricity was expertly aimed to halt Lancer's advance and limit his movement. The ground beneath Lancer's feet was made uneven, making it easier for the white haired Servant to trip up. Occasionally Archer would shoot a bolt at Lancer's weapon, changing its trajectory and causing an otherwise disarming blow to be sent astray.

Still, Lancer was incredibly skilled, quickly adapting to the changing terrain while still attacking Saber with the cold ferocity of a shredder. He kept Saber back while observing the entirety of the battlefield with a critical eye, looking for even a single opening. A moment of pause in the thunderstorm that was Archer and a single misstep on Saber's part. He was waiting with the patience of a hunter as they lay in wait for their quarry...and there it was.

Archer could not fire off lightning continuously, like a gunner had to stop to reload, so too did he have to stop to pull electricity out of the air to power his attacks. And in that instant another jab was sent Saber's way, forcing her to step back as she deflected yet another blow. In that split second that her foot was off the ground Lancer's eye lit with flames. Only a minute into the battle, and already a fatal mistake was made.

" **Brahmastra**."

With a single word the tide of the battle was tipped in his favor. A great beam of fire burst from Lancer's eye and collided with Saber, who, with one foot off the ground, was not able to move fast enough to dodge the attack. Saber was thrown backwards and through a nearby building, a textile shop with little stuffed bears on display, which then proceeded to collapse, kicking up a great cloud of debris obscuring the knight from view. Lancer shot towards Archer, ducking beneath a lightning strike as he prepared to drive his lance into Archer's chest. Archer exploded into a shower of gold sparks as the lance pierced his flesh.

Lancer wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

Archer dove clumsily to the side as his position behind the heterochromatic Servant was found out, only just avoiding a strike from the "gaudy outdated thing", as Hari had described it. Archer had known that the death of a Servant was typically accompanied by them fading away or breaking into golden particles. By going into astral form and firing off small sparks of electricity, he could imitate the effect, however, it seemed that Lancer had gotten savvy to his little illusion.

Archer rolled to avoid another strike, wrapping a hand around the shaft of his opponent's lance in what could've been one last desperate attack. Electricity coursed up the shaft of the weapon, and in a brilliant flash, Lancer was sent flying back, his hand blackened and his hair standing on end. Archer looked at the weapon still in hand with a small smirk. "Well won't you look at that? Though I doubt he'll let me get close enough to do that a second time."

Archer stood up and tugged at the lance, trying to pull it from where it had embedded itself in the concrete and failing with each attempt. Finally giving up, Archer straightened out his suit, he still refused to be seen in anything less than a suit and tie, and walked backwards away from Lancer's slowly rising form.

"You can have that back, seeing as it belongs to you. I have never been one for such traditional weaponry myself, or weaponry of any kind really. Besides, I believe it complements your attire much better than mine anyways. Where did you get that cape, if you do not mind me asking? I think I may have seen something like it once in the hands of a traveling merchant from India. Though yours is much-"

Archer was cut off as Lancer shot a laser beam at him from afar, forcing the well-dressed Servant to trip over his own feet as he stumbled to avoid the blast. He regained his balance, looking rather disgruntled. "That was rude. You know-"

" **EXCALIBUR**!"

A golden light shot from out of the rubble of the fallen textile shop, carving through the concrete between it and the Lancer before impacting with his form, lightly burning the Servant's exposed flesh until the light faded. Still, he looked more than prepared to fight, even if his was leaning a bit heavily on one side now. Saber herself had seen better days, soot and dust covered her previously peerless armor, her form covered in bruises and burns. Still, her now revealed blade gleamed like the sun, casting long shadows over the battlefield.

Archer rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Are we all going to start shooting lasers at each other now? I'm starting to feel a little underpowered."

Lancer ran forward in a blur, pulling his weapon from the ground effortlessly as his eye glowed with barely restrained power, Saber meeting him halfway, their weapons clashing in a shower of sparks. They separated, then collided again. With each clash the sky ignited and the air shook with the rage of an angry god. It would be their sixth collision that ended the fight.

From atop a nearby building that Shirou had climbed during the confrontation, said teen bit his lip in concentration. A spear, a simple one made entirely of metal with no hope of standing up to a Noble Phantasm, took form in his hand alongside a similarly simple bow. All of his prana went to reinforcing his eyes, and he felt them ache from the strain, his head beginning to hurt from the strain, his brain not meant to be able to process the images his eyes could now observe.

Lancer's weapon was big and gaudy, with a large triangle-shaped end that dominated half its length. Where the blade met the shaft a decoration resembling the sun stood prominently, though it could easily be overlooked due to the sheer size of the lance's blade. There, almost unnoticeable was a small opening, an empty space meant to show off a small spiral decoration. A small throwaway detail that would prove to be a critical flaw in the weapon's design.

Lancer jabbed his weapon forward, a brief millisecond of pause as Lancer had to stop his weapon's momentum, momentarily surprised that Saber avoided the attack rather than parry as she had been, and in that millisecond Shirou let his projected spear soar. Lancer didn't notice the projectile until it had already lodged itself inside the thin space found where the blade and the shaft of his weapon met, holding it in place as the spear dug itself into the ground. It would be easily broken however.

The plan wasn't to hold Lancer in place, however.

Shirou stood up and shouted, calling the attention of every combatant. "Electric guy! Now!"

Archer instantly understood, being the genius that he was, and thrust his hand forward. Electricity coursed through the air, traveling without the aid of wires and impacted with the spear, causing it to burn red as electricity coursed up its length, then up Lancer's own weapon and into his body. Lancer shook erratically as an unprecedented amount of electricity coursed through his body, burning him to the very bone. He glared at Archer through the pain, his eye glowing as he prepared to fire.

A rock collided with his head without any warning. Saber was smart enough to know that striking the now electrically charged Lancer with her armored fists or her sword was a bad idea, so she grabbed a piece of debris and hurled it at the Servant, causing his head to tilt forward as he fired his laser. It impacted with the ground, kicking up dust obscuring Lancer from view.

When the dust faded Lancer could be seen standing upright, hand clutching his weapon with his white skin and hair now charred black. Then he fell, dissolving into gold particles before he even hit the ground.

Rin blinked as she came out of hiding, unable to disguise her bafflement at the events. Shirou grinned as he collapsed in exhaustion, laughing the laughter of a man sentenced to death by firing squad only to have every rifle misfire. Saber couldn't help but share her Master's high, and she grinned despite herself. Archer turned towards his Master and smiled politely.

"Well, that was quite an eventful evening. Perhaps next time we have dinner at home instead."

* * *

"Say ahh..."

"Ahh..."

Avenger watched as Hari spoon fed the purple haired Caster chicken noodle soup, an odd grin on his face that anyone else would've called loving but Avenger knew to actually be the smile of pure evil. No one else could make such an innocent look seem so frightening. And though those not in the know may be fooled, any who were knew that that smile promised pain. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but pain would come. No one else could convey such utter...trollness in a single smile.

 _Somewhere Zelretch sneezed._

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Avenger rubber end her fingers into her temples. "You do realize that she is a Servant right? She doesn't need to eat to regain her strength. All she needs is prana."

Hari looked at his original Servant out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Aw...I'm sorry Friend-chan. I didn't mean to exclude you. Here. Try some!" Pulling another spoon out of who knows where, Hari scooped up a spoon full of chicken noodle soup and then proceeded to shove it into Avenger's mouth.

Avenger's eyes widened and began to water. "GODS DAMNIT HARI! IT BURNS! WHY, HARI, WHY!? WHY ALWAYS WITH THE FIRE IN THE MOUTH!"

Hari threw his head back and let out a delighted laugh as he held his sides with his hands. Caster watched in a sort of stunned silence from where she lay in the impromptu hospital bed as she watched her new Master laugh so...childishly. It was odd. Their eyes met, and Hari's laughter momentarily paused to allow him to smirk, holding up the new spoon he had pulled out for Caster to see. It looked normal enough, though the surface looked sticky, and it seemed to have been sprinkled with...

"Is that chili powder?" Caster ventured.

Hari nodded his head once, then burst out laughing again. Caster smiled despite herself. Then she giggled. Then she too found herself laughing a laugh that reverberated off of the windowless concrete walls. She hadn't noticed that Hari's own laughter had died down until after she herself had managed to calm herself. Hari was staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face, a stark contrast to his previous manic glee. Now his features resembled a statue, hard and cold. Then the stone broke and a wide cheshire cat grin split his face in two.

"You know..." Hari leaned in, and Caster could feel his hot breath on her face. His eyes held within them no lust, but instead a sort of wonder, like a child seeing a flower bloom for the first time. "I think you and I will get along just fine, darling~"

Hari shot forward and pecked Caster on the cheek before popping back upright and hopping backwards. Caster blushed a deep red, unsure what to even think about the contact. On one hand, she had only just been freed from a sexually abusive Master and by all means should've been cringing away from any remotely sexual advance. However, she just could not compare the eccentric boy in front of her, so full of wonder and joy, with the disgusting pig who had been her prior Master. This boy saved her, nursed her back to health, and was trying to pursue a relationship in a way that would've fit well in primary school. It was teasing and childish, yet she couldn't help but think it fit the boy quite well.

Caster smiled at her new Master, purposefully trying to emulate a blushing bride. "Oh honey, stop~" she swatted her hand at him playfully. "You are making me blush."

Before Hari could continue the dialogue, the sound of gagging could be heard.

Avenger doubled over as she clutched her stomach in pain. "Gods...that is disgusting...what is this, a rom com? Blech."

Hari and Caster watched Avenger's dramatics for a moment, before turning towards each other and breaking into a fit of giggles.

After calming down somewhat, Hari waved his hand and began to walk out of the concrete room. "I better get back before I'm missed. Don't want the others to get suspicious now. Avenger, you watch over my cutie while she recovers. Cutie, you focus on getting yourself back up to full strength." And with that Hari strolled out of the hidden bunker. Then he smirked.

"And all of you..."

A couple dozen individuals stepped into Hari's line of sight. They wore several layers of clothing, not leaving an inch of skin exposed. They looked like delinquents with their hoodies, gloves and scuffed jeans. However, what stood out most were the yellow masks they wore, each with a simplistic drawing of a face with a wide 'u' shaped grin.

"Stay hidden, but stay together, and stay in the area. Alter Ego will fetch you all later." Here Hari paused, turning away from the group purposefully for dramatic effect. He smirked over his shoulder. "You all will be going on a little shopping trip."

* * *

Ilya pouted. She had missed it. The first battle of the war, her chance to etch some fear into the other Master's hearts, and she had missed it. The victorious Master's had left, and together at that. An alliance. How annoying, oh well. They were no match for Berserker, so she'd deal with them later.

"Hello miss. May I interest you in a complementary button?"

Ilya turned towards the speaker, only just keeping herself and Berserker from lashing out at them. It was an elderly man, wrinkled with thinning grey hair and big round glasses, pushing a cart decorated with a variety of items. Balloons, stamps, postcards, and the aforementioned buttons. The man held out his hand, a wide toothy grin on his face. "Well?"

Ilya paused, focusing her sixth sense to try to detect any form of magecraft that could possibly be in use. Sensing none, Ilya reached out her own hand, holding it palm up as she smiled her best little girl smile. The old man dropped a small button in her hand, round and yellow with a simple smile drawn onto it. "Never forget to smile little lady." And with those parting words the man began to hobble away.

Ilya waved as he left. "Thank you mister! I won't forget!" Once the man was out of sight, Ilya looked at the button in her hand. Shrugging, she pinned it onto the breast of her dress before continuing her way.

She didn't notice the sound of giggling.

* * *

Sakura hummed as she cooked dinner that night. Grandfather had left her alone for the most part, apparently more focused on watching the events of the war through his familiars, and Rider had done well to discourage Shinji from bothering her. Overall, things had been going well for Sakura. Oh yes, she'd have to fight in the war eventually, but for now she was content to wait. She'd follow her otōutō's lead, and would not reveal herself until necessary. Or until Hari told her to. Whichever came first.

Sakura opened a cabinet directly overhead to get some plates to serve that evening's meals on. To her surprise, the dishes were not the only things there. Sitting innocuously on the self was a small black box, the size of a shoebox, with a yellow sticky note stuck on it. Rider reached up and grabbed the box before her Master, worried that the box could be a trap.

"Rider, could you please hand me the note."

Rider observed the piece of paper carefully before nodding silently, handing the note over. It read:

 _"Hi big sis! Things are going well. I heard you summoned dominatrix! I'm so worried...please tell your otōutō that she didn't...you know...oh I can't even imagine it! If that dominatrix even tries to touch you I'll be there right away! Oh! This box is special! You'll need it later, so don't open it until it is time. Trust me. You'll know. Have a nice day big sis! And tell the dominatrix ' I'm watching.' ;)"_

 **AN: First, a big thanks to my beta greysongarr. Without him that fight scene at the beginning of this chapter would have sucked.**

 **Now, what happened...oh yes! Lancer is dead. Lancer's main purpose had been to provide a big bad to force Rin and Shirou to team up, and there were no plans for him beyond that so...yeah. He's dead.**

 **There was also a bit of set up at the end for Ilya and Sakura. Hari and Rider are going to have an... interesting relationship. Hehehe...**

 **Who are the people in the smiley-faced masks? Where did they come from and why are they following Hari's orders? That will be explained in depth in a later chapter, though I think the connection to Alter Ego is pretty obvious. Prepare, next chapter will have a shopping spree of epic proportions! Mwuahahahahaha!**

 **Don't forget, mortals, to pray (review) and smile! :)**


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